Jameis Winston Fantasy News and Statistics

In 2013, as a redshirt freshman at Florida State, Jameis Winston went from a complete unknown to a superstar in four months. He led the team to a 14-0 record and became the youngest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy. In the postseason, he was named MVP of the National Championship Game after throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns to help beat Auburn, 34-31, to win the title. Winston returned for his sophomore campaign and continued his winning streak, going 12-0 in the regular season (he missed one game to suspension) to bring his career record to 26-0. However, the Seminoles were crushed by Oregon, 59-20, in a College Football Playoff semifinal game. Winston declared for the draft as a redshirt sophomore and was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the first overall pick.

Winston’s pro career started off rocky when his first NFL pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He bounced back later that season, breaking the rookie record for passing touchdowns in a game with five against the Philadelphia Eagles. He would go on to finish the season with 4,042 passing yards and 22 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. He was selected for the Pro Bowl, and the Bucs improved their record from 2-14 to 6-10.

In Winston’s second season, he improved his completion percentage and yards per game as well as his touchdown total from 22 to 28. However, his interceptions also increased from 15 to 18. Late in the 2016 season, head coach Dirk Koetter seemed to lose confidence in Winston’s ability to lead the offense. Through Week 11, he had averaged almost 38 pass attempts per game. From Week 12 to the end of the season, there was a visible shift in the game plan, and Winston threw only 31 passes per game over that stretch. When he did throw the ball, the passes were often short, high-percentage throws designed to minimize mistakes. The change was effective, and the Bucs went 4-2 in the final six games after starting 5-5.

Throughout his sophomore season at Florida State and his first two NFL campaigns, Winston struggled to read the field and had issues with his decision-making. He has underestimated the speed of NFL defenses, which has lead to 49 interceptions over the last three seasons. He has a strong arm, and his best quality is the ability to give his receiver a chance on deep passes. However, if he has lost the trust of his coaching staff, they may revert back to the dink and dunk offense they used to finish out 2016.

This past offseason, the Buccaneers invested heavily in their offense. They signed the speedy deep threat Desean Jackson and drafted tight end O.J. Howard in the first round and wide receiver Chris Godwin in the third round. Many anticipate the Bucs improving on the 9-7 record they posted in 2016, and the team certainly has the pieces in place to make a playoff run. However, it will take improvement from Winston to take the team to the next level.